Springfield Tops Westfield, 15-8

Springfield, Mass. - April 3, 2019 - The Springfield College women's lacrosse team used a 9-1 scoring run to pull away with a 15-8 non-conference victory over Westfield State at Stagg Field on Wednesday evening.

Playing at home for the first time since February 28, Springfield improved to 4-6 with the victory, while the loss dropped Westfield State to 2-7 on the year.

Springfield College held a 35-23 advantage in shots for the game and won 17 of the game's 23 draw controls.  Kate Sarnacki(Granby, Mass.) led the Pride's offense with five goals, while both Allie Goddard (Acton, Mass.) and Anjelia Altebrando (Miller Place, N.Y.) each handed out four assists.  Taylor Pichel (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Gabby Fogg (Wells, Maine) each scored a hat trick, and Taylor Kane (Woburn, Mass.) was dominant with eight draw controls.  Brenna Keefe (Acton, Mass.) made eight stops to earn the victory. 

For Westfield State, Marissa Nimeskern (Hanover, Mass.) scored three goals, Elizabeth Navoni (Mansfield, Mass.) found the back of the cage twice, and Sydney Lambert (Hanover, Mass.) posted two helpers.  Maria Woodall (Norfolk, Mass.) and Sam Simonetty (Poughquag, N.Y.) combined to make 14 stops as they shared goalkeeping duties. 

Springfield stormed out to a 3-0 advantage as Sarnacki opened up the scoring with a free-position strike just 47 seconds into the contest before Pichel added a free-position strike of her own at 17:52.  Just 18 seconds later, Sarnacki cleaned up a scramble in front of the cage by poking in her second of the afternoon to give the hosts a three-goal cushion.  Westfield would respond at the 16:43 mark on Nimeskern's first of the night, before Springfield regained a 4-1 cushion out of a timeout when Fogg finished inside off a great look form Altebrando with 14:46 on the clock. The Owls would pull within 4-3 on markers from Nimeskern and Maddie Barkus (Marshfield, Mass.) with 8:53 remaining in the half, but the Pride's offense would heat up down the stretch, accounting for four goals in the final 3:26 to take a 8-3 lead at the half. 

After Nimeskern struck home a free-position goal just over two minutes into the second half, Springfield College strung together five-straight goals over a 12:02 period to gain a commanding 13-4 lead with 12:58 to play.  Five different goal scorers factored into the scoring spree, with Altebrando accounting for three helpers in the push.  The Owls would make one last push, scoring four unanswered goals to make it a 13-8 contest with 4:16 remaining after Navoni scored consecutive strikes.  However, Goddard would connect with Sarnacki for two goals in the last 3:29 to conclude the scoring in the non-conference triumph for the Pride. 

-- recap courtesy Springfield sports information